


Three Can Keep a Secret

by sonictrowel



Series: Long Night in the Blue House [16]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Intrigue!, Plot, Spoilers!, etc. - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-08 09:58:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10384128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonictrowel/pseuds/sonictrowel
Summary: “Shh!” Milly hissed.  “You don’t want to wake the Professor!”“And why don’t I?” he demanded.“She can’t know!  Just— trust me, she doesn’t know yet.”“She doesn’t—?” he sputtered again, hands flailing in the air about his head.  “Who are you?!”Milly frowned, tight-lipped, and then he saw it: the Vortex manipulator strapped to her other wrist.





	

The temperature on the dark side of their little rock had finally dropped enough in recent weeks that it was actually too cold for snow to fall.  This, evidently, was just what Darillium civilisation had been waiting for.  The little towns nearby went about re-excavating roads and pathways that had been only periodically cleared during the constant heavy snows, and reopening shops that had closed down for the last long blizzard.  The plough routes slowly spread into outlying inhabited areas over the space of a few days, until the roads were steadily active with traffic.  Quite a lot of locals had some variation of a snowmobile for getting about as well, some of them of the hovering variety, and the previously dormant region slowly began to come back to life with the sounds of human activity.

River had bought a little car years ago for her commute: a bright red, flashy, retro-Earth-style convertible, naturally.  (She had not particularly appreciated the Doctor pointing out how useless having a convertible was in this climate, and he was not allowed to drive it.)  They finally left the warmth of the TARDIS and stepped out into the frosty air one Sunday afternoon, sliding into the frigid leather seats of River’s car.  Their breath came in white clouds in the dark as the engine groaned to life.

Bloody cold or no, the planet really was very beautiful like this.  From their view atop the cliff, huge snowdrifts covered what once was a rocky red desert in softly rolling hills, and the night was that much the brighter for the endless expanse of white, reflecting the light of the stars and moons.  As they turned off of the steep road that zigzagged down the cliffside and onto the flat stretch that led toward the towers, walls of snow jutted up dramatically on either side of them.  When they arrived in town it was much the same, roads and walkways carving through years of hard-packed snowfall like rivers through the sheer sides of canyons.  

“Bit like living in a maze,” the Doctor remarked as they crawled slowly down the high street in search of the covered carpark.  River hummed in agreement.

When they had parked and stepped out to continue on foot, however, it began to make sense.  Yellow light shone from streetlamps and spilled from corridors carved into the snow along the pavement, each one leading to the door of a shop or cafe.  In the shadow of some 9 feet of firmly compacted snow, it was actually comparatively cosy; insulated like an igloo.  The wind roared past overhead, but they were shielded from its chill.  

The freshly excavated streets were bustling with people, who had no doubt been suffering from an extreme case of cabin fever without the benefit of the various environments hidden in the TARDIS to keep them sane over the last couple of years.  The towers had been cleared as well— the restaurant needed a view of its namesake, after all— and could just be heard singing in the near distance.

“It’s a bloody wonder anyone lives on this rock,” the Doctor mused as they passed a family with three shouting children hurling snowballs at each other.

“I wonder whose fault that is?” River squeezed his hand, their gloved fingers laced together.

“I only made the planet crap, I didn’t tell anyone to go stake a flag on the crap,” he objected.  “That’s humans for you, though.”

“Might’ve been a bit dull if we were the only ones here.”

“D’you think?” the Doctor raised his eyebrows at her.

“No,” she said, smiling.

“Too right,” he grinned back, slipping his hand out of hers to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her against his side.  “But it’s not so bad having a little company now and then, either.”

“And I think this is the place,” River said, motioning to a corridor in the snow to their left.   

It led to the door of the little soup shop where Milly had wanted to meet them when she arrived back in town.  Inside was almost stiflingly warm in contrast to the bitter cold outside, the steamy air heavy with the fresh scent of lime and basil.  Milly was instantly recognisable, seated with her back to them across the room, her two poufs of voluminous, coily black hair protruding over a thick red scarf.

“Table for two?” a hostess had appeared at the podium.

“Ah, no,” said the Doctor, “we’re here with our, ehm… her.”  He pointed.

Milly turned in her chair at the sound of his voice, her face lighting up, and stood to greet them as they made their way across the room.  “Songs!” she shouted cheerfully.

“Milly,” River replied warmly, wrapping her in a hug.  “So good to see you!”

“You too, Professor.”

River laughed.  “I keep telling you, you can call me River.”

“Yeah, I know, just— feels a bit weird,” she said with an apologetic wince as she pulled back.

The Doctor cleared his throat.  “Mils,” he said, inclining his head toward her.

Milly held his stare for a fraction of a second before her face split into a smile again and she moved in to hug him.  He wrapped one arm around her, only somewhat stiffly.

“Alright, Mr. Song?”

“'Course,” he said, releasing her to take a seat.  “How’s Earth?”

She shrugged.  “Humanity’s not totally blown themselves up yet, so just fine, I suppose.”

“It’s too bad your parents couldn’t stay to meet us for dinner,” River said.

Milly’s eyes flicked over to the Doctor for a second before she smiled apologetically at River.  

“Oh, yeah,” she said, “they wanted to, but, had to be off.  Not the quickest trip back to Earth, and they’ve got work and all.”

The Doctor stifled a sigh with great effort.  He doubted the girl’s parents had been involved in dropping her here at all.  Ignorance was bliss.  Having to be in on… whatever this was, and hide it from River with Milly actually _here_ , was going to be total shite.

 

___

 

_"You can’t tell the Professor.”_

“Mils,” the Doctor sputtered, staring across the darkened control room at her, frozen to the spot. _“The hell are you doing?!”_

“I’m— I’m here to help,” she said.  “Promise.  I’m here to help save her.”

The Doctor blanched.  “How do you know—”

“Oh, don’t make me say it,” Milly groaned.

“Wh— say _what?_  What the _hell_ is going on here?!” his voice was rising as he stalked into the room.

 _“Shh!”_ Milly hissed.  “You don’t want to wake the Professor!”

“And why don’t I?” he demanded.

“She can’t know!  Just— _trust_ me, she doesn’t know yet.”

“She doesn’t—?” he sputtered again, hands flailing in the air about his head.  “Who _are_ you?!”

Milly frowned, tight-lipped, and then he saw it: the Vortex manipulator strapped to her other wrist.  “Where did you get that,” he growled flatly.

Her sharp hazel eyes flicked down to follow his line of sight.  “It’s mine.”

“And you’re what, then, a Time Agent?”

She watched him for a moment before she answered.  “No.”

“Well you’d bloody well better explain what you are then!”

Milly sighed heavily.  “Spoilers,” she mumbled.

The Doctor gaped at her.  Mils.  He’d called her that; it just came out.  The Vortex manipulator, her somewhat inexplicable wit, the _thieving,_ and now _spoilers…_

“You look like you’re going to be sick,” she said.

“You _can’t_ be.  No, no, you’re not.”

“I’m not what?” she asked, cautiously.

“She hasn’t got any left, so you _can’t be—_ ”

“Eugh,” Milly interjected over him, “at ease, old man.  I’m _not_ your wife.”

“Oh, thank fuck,” The Doctor muttered, letting out a heavy breath.  “I mean, no offence, I just— _no,_ shut up, you still haven’t explained anything!”

“I _really_ can’t, but you can trust me,” she pleaded.  “You’ve known me three years now, Doctor.”

“Well I did trust you, Mils, but here you are sneaking about my TARDIS in the dead of night, stealing from me when you’re meant to be on Earth!  And I am _not_ going to let you take that stone.”  

A sudden jolt of terror shot through him as he realised she could take it at any time.  She had only to press a button and she could be gone, the Hazandra lost to him.  He prayed she would keep talking.

“You have to let me take it,” she nearly whinged.  “You _know_ me.  I know about the Library, and I’m going to help.  You don’t have the whole solution yet because it has to be solved in the future.   _That’s_ where I’m from.”

How the _hell_ did she know all of this?  The Doctor sighed and ran his hands over his face in frustration.  "I’d love to take your word for it, Mils,” he said, earnestly, “but that is my wife’s _life_ in your hands.”

“I know,” she said softly.

“Then you know I can’t let you leave with it.”

“If you knew what I know, you’d know that you _have_ to.”

“Enlighten me then, please!”

She gave him a long, pained look before she finally sighed.  “I know you, in the future,” she said carefully.

“Not much of a bloody accomplishment considering you know me right now,” the Doctor snapped.

Milly gave an exaggerated groan of frustration and rolled her eyes.  “I mean I knew you in the future _first_ , you numpty!”

 _“Numpty,”_ he mouthed in silent indignance, and then, aloud, “Prove it.”

“How can I?!”

“Why don’t you ring me up and let me hear it from myself, if we’re such good mates I’m sending you back in time to invade my life!”

Milly groaned again.  “I can’t let you talk to a you that you don’t know yet!  You’ve gotten into enough trouble messing about in your own timestream to know better than that.”

He’d regenerated, then. _If_ she was telling the truth.  “Well you’ve got to give me something here, Mils,” he sighed.

“Ask her,” she said suddenly.

“River?  You said she couldn’t know.”

“Not the one who’s asleep.  The one you see when _you_ go to sleep.  I think the TARDIS can manage to pick up the line, don’t you?”

The Doctor did his best not to gape at her.

“I _told_ you, I know all about it.  I’ll put the stone back for now,” she said, and turned back to the controls, replacing the Hazandra in its case.  The lid closed and the case retracted into the console.  “Just phone her.”

“I told you all of this?  In the future?” the Doctor mumbled weakly as he joined her at the controls, trying to process the tangled mess of a situation.  He _wanted_ to trust Mils.  He did know her, after all this time— at least, so he'd thought— and she clearly knew so much.  If it were only his own life on the line… but it was River’s.  He couldn’t take any chances.

“Some of it,” she said.

“And the rest?”

She smiled.  “The Professor did.”

 

The telepathic interface seemed the best way to tap into whatever line River had kept open to his mind.  With another cautious glance at Milly, the Doctor dug his fingers into it, and thought of River, waiting for him on Calderon Beta, the wind billowing her hair, with that knowing smile and all the loneliness beneath it.

And then his vision appeared on the screen.

“Darling!” she said, beaming at him.  “Couldn’t wait til bedtime to ring me up?”

“Hello, dear.  We’ve uh, got some company.  I was hoping you could shed some light on the situation.”

Milly shuffled over into frame and waved, almost shyly.  “Alright in there, Professor?” she asked.

“Milly,” River breathed, her face frozen for a moment in shock before she let out a quiet laugh and smiled.  “It’s— it’s been so long, my dear.”

“I know,” Milly smiled sadly, reaching one hand up to the side of the monitor.  “I’m sorry.  We’re working on it, though.”  The Doctor looked back and forth between them, eyebrow raised.  

“Right,” said River, blinking quickly.  “I didn’t realise— usually you look a bit younger when you’re calling from this time, sweetie,” she said, smiling at the Doctor.

“Disappointed?” he teased.

“Figure out how to get that body in your brain and I’ll show you,” she purred.

“Ugh, can we not?” Milly whinged.

“So, you know about all this, then,” the Doctor said, glancing sideways at Milly.

“He caught me grabbing the Hazandra,” the girl supplied.

“Yes, of course— you can trust her, darling,” River said.  “Honestly, you should know by now that you can.  She’s helping.”

“How d’you know?” he asked, still reluctant.

River gave him a slightly crooked smile.  “You told me.”

“Oh well, yeah, of course I fucking did.”  The Doctor sighed bitterly while Milly laughed.  “Are we ever going to be done with the fucking spoilers?”

“I hope so, honey,” River softly replied.

“You will,” said Milly firmly.  “And then you’ll have me running back to deal with this great big sodding mess for you.”

“And don’t forget getting your doctorate from the very best while you’re at it," River admonished with a smile.  “You need her, Doctor,” she said, turning to him again.  “The solution’s in the future, and you’re still working on it then.  You didn’t want to time travel and leave me on Darillium, so you recruited some help to play the middleman.”

“Oh, don’t make it sound so glamorous,” Milly muttered sardonically.

“Mils,” the Doctor said, slowly turning toward her.  “You're from farther along than us both.  You said you knew me in the future first.  Did— did you know River too, outside the computer?  Do you know that we’ll succeed?”

“Oh, come _on_ , you lot.  I don’t actually enjoy having to use the bloody catchphrase.”

“That makes two of us,” the Doctor muttered.

“You’re convinced now, though, yeah?” Milly said.

The Doctor looked between her and River on the screen and sighed.  “Yeah.  Sorry, Mils, I just— I can’t afford to take any chances.  Not with River.”

“I know,” Milly smiled.  River was watching him with the same soft expression.

“Alright, alright, enough,” the Doctor flushed under their twin gazes.  “I told you, one at a bloody time with the mushy stuff.”

“So what’s next?” River asked.

“Well, guess I might as well use your help on it now, Mr. Song," Milly said.  "Test run with the Hazandra.  I need to pop back and pick up a body that’s just lost its head.”

 

___

 

It made sense, of course.  He'd been thinking about the Nardole problem, when he wasn't thinking about the much larger River problem.  Reattaching a living head to a body, re-loading a living consciousness into a body... it wasn't a bad proof of concept to start with.  And evidently, Milly knew Nardole well.  The Doctor guessed he'd be hanging around once he was reassembled.

They made their move when they'd returned from dinner and River went to have a bath.  The Doctor kissed her and told her he'd join her the next time; she probably wanted to actually relax on the night before the new semester.  When he made it to the console room, Milly had just reappeared, from the scent of ozone and the crackling air, and she was wearing an expression of utter disgust, a neatly-decapitated body in a red coat dumped unceremoniously at her feet.

"You're going to owe me for this one," she said darkly.

"It was your idea," the Doctor replied.

"It was _yours!"_  Milly whinged.  "Bloody boostrap bollocks paradox—"

"Welcome to my marriage," he said with a wry grin.

"Yeah, well, when's the head coming?"

"I'll invite him by tomorrow.  Be a bit obvious if I just called our old friends the giant robot down while River's having a bath," he said.  "We'll put this in the Zero Room, that'll keep him stabilised for now."

"All yours," Milly said, holding both hands up.  "I've done my body-carting duty.  Forever."

"Have you even been to Earth, or did you just skip right from when I saw you last week to meet us at dinner?"

"I went before that," she said, following him as he lugged the once-and-future Nardole down the corridor.

"So your parents really do live there?"

"...Yeah," she said, hesitantly.  "At the moment."

"Good to see I haven't branched out much when it comes to choosing companions."

Milly snickered.

"And how'd you come by a Vortex manipulator?"

She frowned, crossing her arms as they crossed the round threshold of the Zero Room and the Doctor rested Nardole's body against the wall.

"Told you, I know you in the future."

"I haven't got one.  I'm not sure what River did with hers but she doesn't either at the moment."

"Well if anyone _could_ get one, who d'you suppose it would be?"

The Doctor sighed.  "Alright, fair enough.  Isn’t there _anything_ else you’ll tell me?”

“I’d really better not,” she said.  “Besides, I know you don’t like having to keep it from her indoors.  Probably easier the less you know, yeah?”

The Doctor sighed.  “I have no idea.  Nothing about this seems easy.”

“Chin up, Mr. Song,” Milly said, clapping him on the back.  “We’re gonna save your wife.”

He smiled reluctantly at her.  “What have you been doing here for three bloody years anyway, before you made a move?”

“Studying,” she said flatly.  “I am actually getting a degree here!”

“Couldn’t have done that on Earth, in your time?”

“Could have done,” she said slowly.  “I’ve got my reasons.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“Better get back before you’re missed,” she said, stepping out of the Zero Room.  “See you for breakfast!”

The Doctor watched her go, sighing heavily.  Fucking spoilers.

**Author's Note:**

> I know not all was explained... couldn't make it that quick and easy! I hope everyone is enjoying, thanks so much for reading and commenting!


End file.
